


Unbreakable

by Manwathiel_Caladwen



Series: A Relationship in 10 Kisses [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Minor Injuries, Not Epilogue Compliant, Post-Hogwarts, Romance, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:15:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24464806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Manwathiel_Caladwen/pseuds/Manwathiel_Caladwen
Summary: “Auror Potter,” Healer Morin said, “Is your interest with this patient personal or professional?”“Both.” Harry replied, chewing his lip as the two Healers exchanged another look.Healer Banks’ face softened as she turned to look at Harry again, “You know the true identity of the patient?”Harry nodded, “Just tell me he is okay. Please?”“Mr. Malfoy sustained severe burnt to a significant portion of his torso and hands. There were some usual properties to the burns that suggest the fire was magically altered. Quite nasty stuff, actually.”Harry felt some of the colour drain from his face and he swallowed thickly. The sound of his heart was so loud in his ears that he almost missed the next words.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Series: A Relationship in 10 Kisses [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1715830
Comments: 7
Kudos: 310





	Unbreakable

**Author's Note:**

> The third entry in a 10 part series that tells the story of a relationship through 10 types kisses. Recommended you read those first as this is turning into a more connected series than intended. 
> 
> Rated T for language for now, but later stories might be rated differently.  
> Not beta read so any mistakes are my own!
> 
> Enjoy!

Kiss 3: Unbreakable—November 2002

“Hello Harry, you hear about the explosion in Diagon Alley today?”

Harry raised his eyes from the report he was editing and glanced across at his desk mate, an eccentric Auror name Tim Peters who reminded Harry of Luna. Harry shook his head, “What happened. Do we know?” He asked.

“No specifics yet. Teams are still there investigating,” Peters shook his head, “but I heard some senior Aurors talking and rumour has it, it wasn’t an accident.”

“What was the location?” Harry asked, his eyes going back to his paperwork.

“That new potion shop—Abraxous, I believe it’s called.” Peters mentioned offhandedly, flipping through his own pile of reports.

Harry’s eyes widened and he swallowed thickly, “You sure?” he struggled to get out.

“Hmm?—oh yeah. I’m pretty sure that’s what they said. Are you okay Harry? You’re rather pale.”

Harry forced himself to take a deep breath, shoving down the panic building inside his chest. He took another shaky breath, “Yeah, I just have a bit of a headache,” he said, “Actually, I think I’m going to go get something from medical.”

Nodding noncommittally, Peters kept reading. Harry was grateful because it meant that he didn’t notice the way Harry’s hands shook as he reached for his cloak or the way he had to try twice to turn the doorknob.

 _Oh merlin, it’s all my fault._ Harry thought to himself as he made his way to the transportation hub, _he needs to be okay. Let him be okay._

Deciding apparition wasn’t a good option, Harry moved towards the floo connection. He tumbled out the other end in the back room at the Leakey Cauldron, and swore as he tripped over his own feet, glasses falling and breaking as they hit the floor.

Picking up the cracked frames, Harry shoved them back onto his face as he shouldered his way past a group of young witches waiting to enter the Alley through the back entrance. Pulling out his badge, Harry ignored the gapes and gasps from the witches. “Move, Auror business.” He commanded.

Walking through the archway, Harry move on autopilot stop until he turned the corner at the end of the Alley and saw for the for the first time what remained of Draco’s store. The sight of the charred frame and collapsed roof stopped Harry in in his tracks.

“Fuck.” he murmured under his breath. He just kept staring, taking in the glass that still littered the street and the colourful liquids running slowly down the steps. Harry didn’t know how long he stood there but the sound of a smaller explosion broke his reverie and propelled him further.

Approaching the safety barrier put up by the DMLE and Aurors, Harry was just about to reach for his badge when someone called his name.

“Auror Potter, excellent timing.” Senior Auror Hanson, head of investigations, said, approaching him. “I was just about to send for you. I suppose news of this event has started to spread through the Department?”

Harry gave a grunt, still taking in the damage that was infinitely worse up close. From here, Harry could smell the acrid smoke from the fire and mix of potions and raw ingredients Draco kept in the shop.

Following his gaze, Auror Hanson spoke, “It isn’t pretty is it?” Without waiting for an answer, she continued, “Anyways, I wanted to talk to you because I know you’ve been working with the owner on that international case. A connection between that case and this seems probable given the extent of the damage and early evidence suggests the fire wasn’t accidental. Any theories?”

—Auror Potter? Potter?—Harry?”

Harry blinked, “Sorry ma’am. What did you say?”

Auror Hanson pursed her lips, “I asked if you had any insight to share regarding the case you were consulting on with Mr. Abraxous.”

Finally pulling his eyes away, Harry faced his boss. “No ma’am,” Harry shook his head, trying to ignore the guilt worming its way into his thoughts, “The last time Mr. Abraxous and I spoke was about a week, and he had hit another dead end. I can pull my notes from the meeting if you’d like.”

Truthfully, Harry has seen Draco two days ago when they’d had dinner at a little place in Muggle London, but Hanson didn’t need to know that.

“Actually, I’ll require a full report on your past interactions with Mr. Abraxous, as well as a brief on the case.” She sighed, “It’s probably the best lead we’ve got.”

They lapsed into silence and watched as crews dressed in protective gear began slowing neutralising and cleaning the potions still dripping off the stairs and windowsills. Eventually, Harry cleared his throat, “May I ask, ma’am, if Mr. Abraxous was on the premise at the time of the explosion?” He braced himself for the answer.

“Unfortunately, yes.” Auror Hanson sounded grim. “As soon as it was deemed safe, crews went in and found Mr. Abraxous upstairs in the remains of what appeared to be his lab. As the shop was closed to the public today, his assistant was mercifully not present. Mr. Abraxous was transported immediately to St. Mungo's.”

Harry’s stomach gave a lurch and he clamped his jaw shut, forcing the nausea back down. He realised that Auror Hanson was still talking.“…someone will need to go check on his progress. We’ll need to speak to him as soon as he is able.” She turned, “Auror Potter, are you okay? You’re rather pale.”

Harry nodded but didn’t dare open his mouth. As soon as he thought he could speak without the risk of vomiting on his boss’ shoe, he spoke up. “If it is okay with you ma’am, I can go wait at St. Mungos. Mr. Abraxous was my contact after all.” He tried to keep the desperation out of his voice.

Auror Hanson studied Harry carefully, probably seeing more than Harry wanted her to see. “Very well Auror Potter. There isn’t much we can until the site is clean anyways. But,” she added as Harry made to walk away, “I want you to notify me as soon as he is awake and able to answer questions.”

Harry nodded, “Yes ma’am.” Making a deliberate effort to not run, Harry turned and started heading back to the Leaky Cauldron.

Arriving back at the floo connection, Harry was grateful the area was deserted as he stepped into the green flame.

Blinking into the white light of the reception area at St. Mungo's, Harry walked over to the reception desk and waited.

“May I help you?” The reception wizard looked over at him.

“Um, yes.” Harry stumbled, “I’m looking for the burn victim brought in from Diagon Alley.” He flashed his Auror badge, “I’m from the DMLE.”

Consulting the board in front of him, the wizard replied, “Room 416, fourth floor. They are still receiving care, but you can wait in the reception area outside of the ward.”

Harry nodded his thanks and made his way over to the lift, clenching his fists to keep his hands from shaking too badly as he waited for the lift to arrive.

Harry closed his eyes as door closed and he started moving up. His eyes popped open as the lift shuddered to a halt and the door slide open with a cheerful ding.

Schooling his features into what he hopped was a neutral, professional expression, Harry walked out of the life and towards the small waiting area at the end of the hall. If he happened to note exactly what room Draco was in, that was just a side effect of his Auror training.

The waiting room was empty. Settling himself in one of the hard chairs that faced the door, Harry tried to focus on his breathing. _In, Out. In, Out._ He was just settling himself into what he thought was an appropriate pattern before movement in the hallway caught his attention.

Standing quickly, Harry cursed as his foot caught on the edge of a coffee table which held a few heavily abused copies of _Witch’s Weekly_ and _The Quibbler._ Straightening himself, Harry hurried out of the waiting area, following the Healers who had come out of Draco’s room. As it was, they had barely closed the door before Harry was standing in front of them.

Clearing his throat, Harry waiting for the two Healers to look up from the parchment they were reading before he spoke. “Are you the medi-team treating—” Harry paused, unsure on what to call Draco—“the victim from the fire in Diagon Alley?” He recovered. “I’m front the DMLE,” he added quickly, reaching for his identification again.

“We know who you are Auror Potter,” the female Healer said with a small smile, “I am Healer Banks, and this is Healer Morin, and yes. We just finished administering treatment to the—”

“How is he?”

Healer Banks pursed her lips. “He is receiving excellent care and is currently resting.”

Harry let out a short breath, “But how _is_ he?” He pressed, “How extensive are his injuries? Will he recover?”

The two Healers glanced at each other, “Auror Potter,” Healer Morin began.

“I just need to know if he’ll be okay.” Harry exhaled, shoulders sagging a bit at the look on the Healers’ faces.

“Auror Potter,” Healer Morin said again, more sternly, “Is your interest with this patient personal or professional?”

“Both.” Harry replied, chewing his lip as the two Healers exchanged another look.

Healer Banks’ face softened as she turned to look at Harry again, “You know the true identity of the patient?”

Harry nodded, “Just tell me he is okay. Please?”

“Mr. Malfoy sustained severe burns to a significant portion of his torso and hands. There were some usual properties to the burns that suggest the fire was magically altered. Quite nasty stuff, actually.”

Harry felt some of the colour drain from his face and he swallowed thickly. The sound of his heart was so loud in his ears that he almost missed the next words.

“But yes,” Healer Banks continued, “He will be okay.”

Putting a hand out to stabilise himself as relief washed through him, Harry looked at the Healers, “Can I see him?” He managed to get out.

Healer Morin shook his head, “We gave him something to help with the pain and to keep him asleep. He’ll be under its effects for a while.” He paused, “Perhaps it’d be best for you to return to the DMLE. We will notify you when Mr. Malfoy is awake and able to answer questions.”

Harry nodded his assent.

“Very good,” Healer Morin said, “We will be in contact Auror Potter.” Together, the two Healers made their way down the hall and out of sight.

Harry waited until he could no longer hear their voices or footsteps before pulling out his wand to deactivate the alarm he was sure they’d placed on the door. Sure enough, the door handle glowed blue for a brief second and with a small click, the door unlocked.

Taking one more glance down the hall, Harry stepped inside, turning to make sure the door was fully closed and didn’t slam behind him. Still facing the door, Harry conjured his patronus and gave it a message to deliver to Head Auror Hanson. That done, Harry re-pocketed his wand and bracing himself, turned around.

A small gasp escaped Harry’s throat before his clamped his mouth closed to prevent any other noises. Moving closer to the bed, Harry took in the thick bandages that covered Draco’s chest and hands and the singed hair laying unevenly across his brow.

Harry reached a hand, wanting so badly to touch and feel proof that Draco was alive, but he withdrew his hand, also afraid of disturbing or hurting Draco as he slept. Instead, Harry drew his wand once more and conjured himself a chair at the foot of Draco’s bed. Settling in, Harry resigned himself to watching the slow rise and fall of Draco’s chest, grateful for that small sign of life.

At some point during his vigil, Harry must of have fallen asleep for his eyes popped open at the groans of pain that worked their way into his restless dreams. He was out of his chair and next to Draco’s bed before his mind could fully catch up with his body.

“Draco?” He kept his voice soft, and he watched hopefully as eyelids fluttered opened and registered Harry standing there.

Draco clenched his jaw as his eyes slid closed again, “What the fuck did you do to me this time Potter?” Draco said with a small hiss of pain.

Harry blinked rapidly a few times, grateful that Draco’s eyes were still closed so he didn’t see the slightly watery smile Harry wore when he spoke, “You were the prat that didn’t notice an altered exploding potion in the package you opened.”

Draco opened one eye to glance at Harry, but closed it again quickly, a small smug smile playing at his mouth. “So let me get this straight—a mad wizard you’ve been unable to catch blows up me and my shop and you’re blaming me? Nice try Potter.”

Even though he knew Draco was joking, his words caused a new wave of guilt to wash over Harry and settle deep in his chest. And as if he could read Harry’s thoughts, Draco opened both eyes again, and this time, Harry was unable to hide the wetness in his eyes no matter how quickly he tried to blink it away.

Harry watched as Draco moved carefully into a more upright position, keeping his jaw shut tightly to keep any noises of pain from escaping.

“Harry,” he said softly, once he’d settled, “this isn’t your fault.”

Harry swallowed hard, “He could have killed you Draco. And I couldn’t have stopped him.” 

“But he didn’t, and you will.” Draco extended a bandaged hand, “come here.”

Taking the hand gingerly, Harry moved closer to Draco’s bed. When he was close enough, he let go of Draco’s hand, instead reaching out to stroke the side of Draco’s face, tracing some of the less serious burns already healing.

“Draco.”

“Harry.”

“Can I kiss you?”

Draco nodded, and Harry let out a breath before moving slowing, careful of where he put his other hand.

The kiss started softly, tenderly and Harry felt himself being pulled in deeper and deeper, needing the reassurance of feeling Draco respond in equal part. Their pace was slow, lazy but that just made the connection that much more intense, and Harry revelled in every feeling of Draco moving beneath him.

Pulling away, Harry rested his forehead against Draco’s and a minute passed before Draco spoke.

“Just so you know, I’m billing the Auror Department for damages.”

Harry smile in spite of himself and rather than responding, pushed back in, capturing Draco’s smile in another kiss.

In some small part of his mind, Harry thought they should probably stop before Draco’s monitoring sensor brought the Healers running, not to mention how many protocols he was breaking, but Harry pushed those thoughts out. Whatever Draco’s tongue was doing was far too important to not give it his full attention.

Indeed, the words and feelings they were conveying through their kiss were so important that neither noticed when the door suddenly opened.

“Oh my!”

Harry pulled away abruptly, and both he and Draco whipped their heads towards the door to see Healer Banks and Head Auror Hanson standing there.

“Is this a new questioning procedure I am unaware of, Auror Potter?” Auror Hanson asked recovering first, and Harry felt himself go red.

“Ma’am, I can—” Harry started, scratching at the back of his neck but she interrupted him.

“Healer Banks notified me when you sneaked into Mr. Malfoy’s room.” She gave Harry a stern look, “We will discuss your role in this investigation later, but for now, I believe Healer Banks and I should leave you boys alone. Clearly, the sensor alarm was not caused by medical reasons.”

Auror Hanson turned to leave and Healer Banks gave them a long stare. “Auror Potter, I will permit you to stay but no strenuous activities. Mr. Malfoy needs rest.” And then, she too left, closing the behind her.

“How bold of her to assume I want you to stay.” Draco spoke up, breaking the tension in the room, and Harry laughed.

“Should I leave then?”

“No,” Draco answered, “but you’ll have to convince why I am letting you stay.”

Smiling, Harry let himself be pulled in again, “I can do that.” He managed to get out and then he found himself to busy to say or think of anything else.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments are always appreciated <3 <3


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